Cubs in 1st? Lets hope

When the sun goes down this evening the Cubs could finally find themselves in first place. Who cares if the Cubs have gotten fat off of the Nats and struggling Reds and the Cardinals have faltered lately against the second-half Astros and (if they lose today) Phillies. The fact remains that the Cubs, despite the injuries and underachievements, are in late July and have the potential to be in first. You can't ask for much more than that.

Todd Wellemeyer against Joe Blanton would seem to favor the Phillies today, but with those two offenses going against eachother who knows, it should be fun to watch. Thankfully the Astros lost to the Mets last night, and send Brian Moehler (7-5, 4.92 ERA, 56 SO) against Livan Hernandez (6-5, 4.93 ERA, 56 SO) in a matchup of guys with, as you can see, virtually the same stats. Scoreboard watching this intently this early may be a bit crazy, but hey, I'm a baseball fan and I'm squeezing every last ounce of fun out of this season.

Cubs notes - I really hope Rich Harden puts the "he can't pitch in day games" mantra to rest today. I acknowledge what the numbers say, but pitching is pitching and the simple fact remains that if he can't pitch in day games he definitely shouldn't be a member of the Chicago Cubs.

- Is Kevin Gregg in danger of being overworked? He has pitched in 6/9 games since the break. Clearly you'll take a win anyway you can get it, but it sure would be nice if there is a sizable lead (in the Cubs favor) and Justin Berg and the Shark could get some work today.

- As many of you have probably seen, Len tweeted this morning that D-Lee will not play today. An article on espnchicago last night noted that he was playing catch with his daughter after the game yesterday. Thus I am not too worried about his neck. He could probably use a day off anyway to stay strong, and hopefully Jake Fox can get some AB's today.

Finally for those who haven't seen it, here is another gem from Milton Bradley via the Chicago Tribune regarding the trade rumors:
After Saturday's game, Bradley was asked about the rumor.

"I don't pay attention to rumors," he said. "I'm always rumored. I'm one of them guys that are multi-talented, can do a lot of things. I'm not surprised. It's just a rumor."